Foreign tourists to Kon Tum

German tourist Gaby Franco and his wife visit the Kon Klor suspension bridge

On Saturday and Sunday afternoons, more people visit, enjoy the fresh air and take souvenir photos on the Kon Klor suspension bridge in Thang Loi ward, Kon Tum city than usual. The atmosphere was very crowded and bustling. Stopping, leaning against the bridge, admiring the sunset on the river, German couple Gaby Franco and her husband did not hide their excitement and enjoyment. With her relatively modest English, she still openly said that she and her husband had the opportunity to visit many places on the tourist map of Vietnam. Every place has its own beauty and impression. However, I have never been anywhere else, although it is small, it has a unique and intimate feature like Kon Tum. Kon KLor suspension bridge is located in a beautiful location. Right at the beginning of the bridge, is a very “unique” communal house, which she saw for the first time in her life. In Kon Klor village, she and her husband also visited the brocade weaving place and bamboo basket weaving place, and enjoyed Can wine… Although life here is still frugal, it is peaceful.

More than 20 years after Kon Tum province was re-established, the provincial city in particular and the northern Central Highlands region in general are gradually moving up in the trend of development and integration. Kon Tum is increasingly becoming a destination for tourists from near and far, including many foreign tourists. In total, nearly 100 tourist destinations have been planned and put into operation in the province and city. Kon Tum is home to 32 cultural and historical tourist attractions, 03 revolutionary history tourist attractions and one eco-tourism destination. The districts have 36 cultural and historical tourist sites, 07 revolutionary history tourist sites and 19 eco-resort tourist sites. Following the momentum of socio-economic development, in recent years, activities in the field of tourism have gradually prospered. According to statistics from the province’s Culture – Sports and Tourism sector, in the period 2011-2015, the number of tourists coming to the province increased by an average of 7.4%/year. Along with nearly 682,000 domestic visitors, in the past 5 years, there have been over 350,000 foreign visitors to Kon Tum. The number of international visitors to the province continuously increased, from about 53,700 people (2011), to more than 60,100 people (2012), 66,400 people (2013), more than 78,600 people (2014) and nearly 92,000 people (2014). 2015).

Tourists get acquainted with gongs of the Ba Na people

In a short period of time, in Kon Tum city, places tourists visit include Kon Tum Museum, Kon Tum Prison, Wooden Church, Bishop’s Palace, Kon Klor suspension bridge… With “longer” tours, The choice is expanded with the ability to admire the new beauty of Mang Den Ecotourism Area, explore Bo Y International Border Gate, or visit the ancient Dak To – Tan Canh battlefield. In particular, an interesting thing not to be missed is to mingle with nature, visit forests, waterfalls, rivers and streams and experience rustic life with ethnic minorities in villages and hamlets in Kon Tum city, Kon Ray district, Sa Thay district, or further afield, Tu Mo Rong, Dak Glei… Not far from Kon Lor suspension bridge, visitors can stop to rest and experience life with BaNa ethnic people in Kon Ktu village, Dak commune Ro Wa. The day of riding a dugout boat on the DakBla River, the night of the gong festival, or simply a rustic dish… also leaves an unforgettable feeling. Traveling a little further, visitors can also go to Plei T’Nghia village, Kon Ro Bang, Kon Drei village, Plei RoHai village, Kon H’Ra… to learn about the cultural beauty of communal houses and stilt houses of the fields. indigenous cells.

Admiring the unique beauty of the wooden church and bishop’s palace, Mrs. Elisabet and her husband and the group of French tourists were surprised and excited. They stayed for a long time to learn more about the history of the unique religious architectural works associated with the land and people along the Dak Bla River, and passionately took many souvenir photos.

Along with the interest in investing in infrastructure, in recent times, Kon Tum province has promoted advertising, promotion and cooperation in tourism exploitation. Not only participating in the cooperation workshop to develop tourist areas in 3 provinces of Quang Ngai, Gia Lai, Binh Dinh, cooperation in tourism development for the period 2012-2017 between the tourism industry of Ho Chi Minh City and Kon Tum was also signed. conclude. In addition, large-scale cultural events such as the Folk Song and Folk Dance Festival in the Central Highlands region, Mang Den – Kon Plong Culture and Tourism Week were held, attracting many tourists, including tourists. foreign tourism, contributing to introducing and promoting tourism in the Northern Central Highlands.

Along with the type of eco-tourism identified as the main focus in the tourism development orientation of Kon Tum province, currently, cultural – historical – craft village tourist attractions, and especially community tourism … is also the choice of foreign tourists coming to Kon Tum. The province sets a goal that by 2020, it will welcome over 530,000 visitors, including about 189,000 international visitors. Therefore, to achieve this goal, in the coming time, in order to further promote the strengths of ecotourism, in addition to the highlight of Mang Den Ecotourism, there are many potential addresses such as Dak Uy special-use forest, Nha Trang Bay. Ya Ly hydroelectric lake, Bo Y international border gate economic zone, nature reserves, national parks… need to be focused on investment and exploitation. Along with the requirement to pay due attention to preserving and embellishing historical-cultural relics, natural landscapes, ancient villages, and craft villages, promoting the value of local intangible cultural heritage ; strive to create favorable conditions for businesses and individuals to link and cooperate with domestic and foreign travel companies to build tours associated with the province’s tourist destinations and related tourist routes. Provincial and international are the deciding factors in the province’s ability to develop the tourism industry in the coming time.

To attract more and more foreign tourists to Kon Tum, currently, the program links with the Central Highlands provinces, Ho Chi Minh City, and develops tourism with the provinces of Southern Laos and Northeast Thailand. Lan is located in the East-West economic corridor and the potential Mekong sub-region that needs to be targeted by Kon Tum province with a truly specific and effective roadmap./.

Articles and photos: Nghia Ha